Tunnel construction The final stage of lake filling in Lake Uri begins

With a freight train full of stones from the construction of the second Gotthard tunnel, the canton of Uri started the third and final stage of lake filling on Monday. Around five million tons of excavated material is expected to be poured into Lake Uri by 2029.

950 tons of gravel, sand and stone arrived on Monday via freight train from Göschenen near the industrial port in Flüelen. The rock will be dumped into Lake Uri and is intended to create a new habitat for plants and animals, as those responsible for the lake filling project announced on Monday.

The first lake filling was carried out in 2001 and 2008 with rock from the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Flüelen bypass tunnel. This created three nature reserves and three bathing islands.

The lake fills will correct encroachments on the southern shore of Lake Lucerne and restore shallow water zones over an area the size of ten football pitches.

The straightening of the Reuss and gravel extraction meant that the delta could no longer develop naturally.

SDA